during my maternity leave, I asked a few of my favorite mamas and mamas-to-be to kindly step in with some fun guest posts to keep you company

hi everyone! my name is Kate from over at Nelson & Lorraine. my husband and I just had our first little bundle of joy, Nelson Jacob, on February 11th. I have to say it’s so exciting to be guest blogging here because that means Alyson and Levi’s little man has arrived! congrats!

one thing I have cherished since Nelson was born is nursing. one thing I haven’t been so crazy about are clothing options for the nursing mom. I practically live in two black Bravado nursing tanks. and while they’re super comfortable, I’m desperately wanting to wear cute tops and dresses this summer.

there have to be some tricks of the trade out there, so please share! on top of not wanting to have a boring wardrobe this summer I also have two outdoor weddings our little family is attending. the nursing dresses I’ve seen tend to be a bit on the boring side. if I go with a regular dress, does slipping off a shoulder strap work? or, if a dress has a cross front do you have enough access for breastfeeding?

9 Responses to “guest post: seeking cute clothes for nursing moms”

Hi Kate! Fear not! I nursed my daughter for a year and have nursed my son for 7 months and plan to continue until he’s ready to be done! It is tough to find cute nursing clothes, but a friend gave me a great tip. She told me to wear my belly band under my regular shirts so I can just pull up my shirt and not have to bear my tummy. I also love the wrap sweaters for nursing so you can use the wrap as a little nursing cover. (I like the BCBG versions) I’ve found a few cross front dresses that work just fine for nursing and oversized, off the shoulder shirts from American Apparel work great too.
I hope this helps!
– Michelle

I had a hard time with dresses, but I did wear lots of skirts and cute tops. I used the Bravado tank tops a lot, and just wore loose tops over them. That way my belly stayed covered when I pulled up my shirt. I did have a couple dresses that I could pull down, but it isn’t quite as modest, so it depends on how you feel about that! You can always drape a muslin blanket over your shoulder, which isn’t quite as hot as some other covers.

if you slip the shoulder strap off, you’ll probably want a shawl or gauzy scarf to cover a little and not feel too exposed. i love the ones martha mcquade of uniform natural make. i never found the cross front dresses to work for me, but that had to do with my bust size (never went bigger than a small B).

if your guy was born in feb., chances are you won’t be nursing every 1-2 hours, so you can just as easily excuse yourself and find a quiet place to nurse. my guy was a late feb. birth, and by aug. he was already on solids. i’m still nursing once a day at 28 months, but boy am i thrilled to be able to wear my regular clothes again!

Thanks so much for the tips, ladies. I’m still in search of the perfect nursing bra (without breaking the bank) so I can get away from the tanks. I’ve tried a couple of times just wearing regular shirts that I can pull up. My little guy is growing fast – he tends to cover up any exposed belly. Thanks for the dress suggestions. I will definitely be bringing a light weight muslin blanket to the festivities.

Congrats on your new baby and for making it through those tough first months. You are venturing into the most fun time to have a baby; that 6m-2yr. window. My nursing days are long behind me but I nursed each of my boys for about a year. Tops with buttons, shirt maker dresses, any thing that wraps; these all work well for nursing. When my youngest was three weeks old I had to go to a formal dinner party, I got the help of a great personal shopper at Nordstroms. She found a flattering dress for my recovering body and she had zippers sewn in each side. With that and a cute sheer shrug I was able to nurse discretely.

I am still nursing my 9 month old and I can’t tell you how much I dislike nursing clothes! So instead I just wear light cotton, loose fitted shirts. Draping soft shirts with a strappy tank underneath (I lift the top shirt up and pull the top of the tank down. That way my tummy isn’t exposed.) :)